10 THINGS TO DO IN QUEBEC CITY | Travel Guide - YouTube 10 THINGS TO DO IN QUEBEC CITY | Travel Guide Want to watch this again later? Sign in to add this video to a playlist. Need to report the video? Sign in to report inappropriate content. The interactive transcript could not be loaded. Loading... Rating is available when the video has been rented. This feature is not available right now. Please try again later. Published on Jul 30, 2014 If you want to experience a Canadian city with a bit of French flair, then you need to visit Quebec City. Situated on the banks of the St. Lawrence River, this is a town with good looks and a big heart. We only had a day and a half there, but that was enough time to wander the cobbled streets, catch some street performances, and visit many of the top attractions.

The following is a little video of our time in historic Quebec City, Canada highlighting the top 10 things to do and see in this top attractions travel guide: GEAR WE USE Olympus 14-150mm II Lens: Rode Video Mic GO: Joby Gorilla Pod: SanDisk 16GB Extreme Pro: SOCIAL MEDIA & TRAVEL BLOGS instragram: 1) Plains of Abraham We are no standing on the Plains of Abraham and this is the location where the battle between the English and the French was fought. This was the battle that ultimately determined the fate of North America. This battle was part of the Seven Years' War and it would be the deciding factor over the fate of New France, influencing the later creation of Canada. 2) Citadelle We just finished visiting the Citadelle and if you get the chance I would suggest you try to be here by ten in the morning. That is when they have the changing of the guard ceremony and it is a lot of fun to watch. They even have a pet goat that takes part so it really is a lot of fun. The Citadelle is the largest British fortress in North America.

3) Chateau Frontenac Now we're visiting Chateau Frontenac, one of the most famous hotels in all of Canada. It is a stunner. It is just absolutely beautiful. We're trying to capture it from different vantage points. The hotel was designed by American architect Bruce Price. It was one of many "château" style hotels built for the Canadian Pacific Railway company with the goal of promoting luxury tourism. Today, a night at the Frontenac starts at $379 dollars. 4) Terrasse Dufferin This boardwalk that we are currently standing on is called Terrasse Dufferin and it is a great place for a stroll. You can catch some street performers, eat some ice cream and you also get some great views of the river below. The promenade sits right outside the Chateau Frontenac and it is 425 meters in length. You can also catch a funicular nearby which takes you to the Old Lower Town. 5) Quartier Petit Champlain Petit Champlain is a neighbourhood located in the Old Lower Town. It is quite picturesque, especially when viewed from the Breakneck Stairs. The narrow cobbled streets are lined with small shops and cafes.

It's a really fun neighbourhood to explore with a camera in hand. 6) Basilica Notre Dame de Quebec The Basilica Notre Dame de Quebec is the oldest church in the Americas north of Mexico. If you want to get a sneak peek at the crypt, you'll have to sign up for a guided tour. 7) Rue St. Paul We're now walking along Rue St. Paul and this is a great place to browse for antiques and you can buy some souvenirs. Just don't leave your visit to the end of the day because you may find that a lot of the shops have closed. 8) Museum of Civilization The Museum of Civilization is a great place to learn about the Aboriginal peoples of Quebec. 9) Port of Quebec We're here now in the Port Area. This is a great place to take a ferry. A lot of people come here to exercise, to fish and just to enjoy the views of the St. Lawrence river. It is a really relaxing place. The Port of Quebec is the oldest in all of Canada and it played an important role in developing the region. Today you'll find that cruises have replaced much of the former freight traffic.

10) Catch a Street Performance And lastly, you can't come to Quebec City and not catch a street performance! The city celebrates its performers and you'll often find acts taking place in the town square and parks. Grab a seat for some live entertainment and don't forget to leave a tip at the end! And that concludes our brief but very enjoyable trip to Quebec City! We hope that you enjoyed this video and that it will help inspire your Canadian travels. To see our latest city guides and food videos, hit subscribe! Music in this video courtesy of Audio Network This is part of our Travel in Canada series. Saint Lawrence River and Seaway | river, North America | Britannica.com Saint Lawrence River and Seaway river, North America Sept-Îles Saint Lawrence River and Seaway, hydrographic system of east-central North America . It connects the North River (source of the St. Louis River, in the U.S. state of Minnesota , which flows into Lake Superior) with Cabot Strait , leading into the Atlantic Ocean in the extreme east of Canada , crossing the interior of the North American continent for some 2,500 miles (4,000 kilometres).

It is of vital geographic, hydrologic, and economic importance to the United States and Canada. Passenger ship near source of St. Lawrence River at Lake Ontario. Bob Krist/Corbis The St. Lawrence hydrographic system, with the five main sectors of the St. Lawrence Seaway project … Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc. The St. Lawrence system can be divided into three broad sectors. Upstream lies the Great Lakes region, with narrow riverlike sections linking the broad expanses of the lakes themselves. In the centre, from the eastern outflow of Lake Ontario , near the Canadian town of Kingston, to the Île d’Orléans, just downstream from the city of Quebec, the system passes through a more normal watercourse. From the Île d’Orléans to the Cabot Strait, between Newfoundland and Nova Scotia , the system broadens out again, first as the St. Lawrence estuary , and then, passing Anticosti Island, as the oval-shaped marine region known as the Gulf of St. Lawrence. The discussion here is confined primarily to the latter two sectors. For a treatment of the Great Lakes sector, see Great Lakes . The St. Lawrence River and Seaway.

Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc. The St. Lawrence is a mighty and unique hydrographic system. Bedded in an ancient geologic depression, it drains the heart of a continent. It is at once an international, an intra-Quebec, and a multiprovincial system. An axis of regional population, it is also a waterway linking Canada and the United States to western Europe and a large part of the rest of the world. The frontages of the several regions of the St. Lawrence River are not equally developed and do not maintain the same types of relationship with their hinterlands and with the outside world. Throughout its length, nevertheless, the St. Lawrence retains a great natural beauty. Similar Topics Cuyahoga River The St. Lawrence Seaway , a massive navigational project undertaken jointly by Canada and the United States and completed in 1959, opened North America’s industrial and agricultural heartlands to deep-draft ocean vessels. It forged the final link in a waterway some 2,340 miles long from Duluth, Minnesota (at the westernmost point of Lake Superior) to the Atlantic by clearing a throughway in a 186-mile stretch of the St.

Lawrence River between Montreal and Lake Ontario. Although the official seaway consists of only this stretch and the Welland Canal (connecting Lakes Ontario and Erie), the entire Great Lakes–St. Lawrence system, with 9,500 miles of navigable waterways, has come to be known as the St. Lawrence Seaway. Physical features Geology The St. Lawrence River occupies a geologically old depression that involves three great geologic regions of North America: the Canadian Shield , the Appalachian Mountains , and the intervening sedimentary rock platform. This ancient setting has been broken up by movements of the Earth’s crust along several zones of structural weakness and also has been worn down by a number of separate cycles of erosion. Glaciers occupied the depression during the Pleistocene Epoch (about 2,600,000 to 11,700 years ago), but they were replaced by the Champlain Sea , which flooded the depression from about 13,000 to 9,500 years ago. A subsequent slight uplifting of the continent was enough to expel this arm of the ocean, and about 6,000 years ago a residual riverlike watercourse—the St.

Lawrence—was established. Physiography Louis-Edmond Hamelin Pierre Camu The economy The seaway has had a major economic impact on the United States and Canada. A principal reason for its construction was the discovery, in Quebec and Labrador, of vast deposits of iron ore needed by steel mills in the United States. Canada, an importer of American iron ore before the seaway opened, exported ore, the second largest commodity, to the United States thereafter. The largest commodity moved is grain, from farms on Canada’s prairies and in the American Midwest, shipped through the seaway at considerable savings. Major users of the seaway are vessels known as lakers, which are designed to the maximum limits of the seaway locks in order to facilitate two-way trade. A laker can pick up grain in the western Great Lakes, destined for world markets, and return with Canadian iron ore, loaded in the lower St. Lawrence. The third largest seaway commodity is coal, moved chiefly from U.S. mines via the Welland Canal to Canadian steel mills and power plants. Another commodity that is significant—because of its value rather than the amount moved—is imported iron and steel. Commodity-carrying laker in the St.

Lawrence Seaway at Montreal. © Winston Fraser/Comstock Barge passing through the St. Lambert Lock on the St. Lawrence Seaway. Photos.com/Jupiterimages Bulk commodities make up about 90 percent of annual cargo tonnage, but vessels of many nations also use the seaway to deliver or pick up general cargoes. The Great Lakes–St. Lawrence River system has become one of the world’s most heavily used international trade routes. Some 35 to 40 million tons of cargo move annually through the Montreal–Lake Ontario section. Although the system often is characterized as a vast inland sea comparable to the Mediterranean, its use is restricted by limited access and by a severe winter climate that shortens the shipping season to about eight and a half months. In 1959 the seaway allowed passage of about 80 percent of the world’s ships, a figure that has since decreased. The size of a vessel that uses it is limited to a draft of 26 feet, a length of 730 feet, and a beam of 76 feet. These dimensions have become relatively small by the standards of world cargo-ship construction.

History Early navigation Efforts to sail into the heart of the continent date from 1535, when the French explorer Jacques Cartier , seeking a northwest passage to the Orient, found his path blocked by the Lachine Rapids, southwest of what is now Montreal. The digging of shallow St. Lawrence canals for bateaux and Durham boats (long, tapering boats with flat bottoms and auxiliary sails) in the early 1780s; the construction of the Erie Canal from Buffalo, New York , to the Hudson River from 1817 to 1825; the opening of the first canal around Niagara Falls in 1829; and the completion of the first lock, at Sault Sainte Marie , Michigan , in 1855, all fostered the dream of a navigable waterway into the continental interior. The United States, however, proved a reluctant partner in a venture, pursued by Canada from the beginning of the 20th century onward, to open the Great Lakes to sea traffic. The U.S. Senate rejected the Seaway Treaty of 1932 and allowed a second treaty, signed in 1941, to remain unratified for eight years.

Faced with the likelihood that Canada would proceed alone, the U.S. Congress finally approved participation in the project in May 1954. Construction of the seaway The seaway project was one of the largest civil engineering feats ever undertaken. Construction began in the summer of 1954 and took nearly five years to complete. Over its course the project employed some 22,000 workers and utilized enough cement to build a highway 1,000 miles long and enough steel to girdle the Earth. About 6,500 people living in riverside communities had to be relocated, bridges were raised, and tunnels, dikes, and roads were constructed. Locks had to be constructed in the seaway and modernized in the Welland Canal to raise and lower large ships a total of 557 feet, making it the world’s greatest waterway lifting operation. It takes about seven minutes for water to pour in or out of a seaway lock; the average locking takes about half an hour. To overcome the navigational hazard of the swift-flowing, 226-foot fall of the St.

Lawrence River between Lake Ontario and Montreal and to develop its hydroelectric power potential required an investment of more than $1 billion. The Welland Canal, Ontario George Hunter For the navigation portion of the project, the Canadian government built two canals and five locks around the Cedar, Cascades, and Lachine rapids and three seaway dams; and the U.S. government built two locks, a 10-mile canal around the International Rapids, and two seaway dams and cleared shoals from the Thousand Islands section of the river. This series of operations created a waterway 27 feet deep, replacing six canals and 22 locks that had been limited to a depth of 14 feet. Several of the Thousand Islands in the Saint Lawrence River, viewed from New York state. Matthew Trump In order to make the seaway operational, a number of other projects had to be undertaken as well. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers deepened the Straits of Mackinac , between Lakes Michigan and Huron; the St. Marys River, between Lakes Superior and Huron; the Detroit River , Lake St. Clair , and the St. Clair River, between Lakes Erie and Huron; and many Great Lakes harbours.

In addition, between 1913 and 1932 Canada had built seven lift locks of seaway dimensions in the Welland Canal , which overcame the 326-foot plunge of the Niagara River and Falls, between Lakes Erie and Ontario. The seaway became operational in April 1959. To tap the considerable energy of the river’s tumbling waters, the seaway project included the construction in the International Rapids section of the Iroquois Control Dam near Iroquois, Ontario, and the Moses-Saunders Power Dam near Cornwall. The project created the 30-mile-long Lake St. Lawrence. Generation of hydroelectric power began in July 1958. The generating capacity is shared equally by Ontario and New York state. Financing the seaway As the price of approving seaway legislation, the U.S. Congress required that the seaway project be self-liquidating; the Canadian government also adopted this as a national policy. Tolls were to be assessed at a rate sufficient to pay back the cost of the project in 50 years, to pay annual interest on the funds borrowed to build it, and to pay all operating costs.

The two nations jointly established a system of tolls, with each nation collecting tolls in its own currency. This resulted in a split of about three-fourths of the revenue to Canada and one-fourth to the United States. Revenues from tolls in the early years of the seaway’s operation consistently fell far short of annual operating costs and interest payments, putting the seaway deeper in debt. Neither the Saint Lawrence Seaway Authority, operating Canada’s installations, nor the Saint Lawrence Seaway Development Corporation, running U.S. operations, was able to increase tolls to keep pace with higher operational costs until the late 1970s, when a new Joint Seaway Tariff of Tolls agreement was accepted by both countries. Tolls were again increased in the early 1980s. Annual shipping tonnage had reached its peak in 1977, however, after which a gradual decline ensued. Thus, despite the increase in tolls, revenues generally continued to fall short of expenses. In the mid-1980s the U.S. government assumed the financial obligations of the American seaway corporation.

The tolls that were collected (the American share by this time had been reduced to 15 percent of the total) were returned as rebates to the seaway’s users, and the federal government provided direct subsidies to the American corporation. The Canadian authority, meanwhile, continued to operate as before and to charge tolls. The incentives to shippers offered by the rebates, however, helped stabilize seaway traffic by the end of the decade. River Photos -- National Geographic Photograph by Scottyboipdx Weber, My Shot The sun sets over Lower Lewis River Falls in Washington State’s Gifford Pinchot National Forest. The falls mark a wild and scenic stretch of the river, but other sections of the Lewis, which drains the state’s mighty Cascade Range, boast large dam and reservoir systems. Hydroelectric plants produce power, but they’ve changed the river’s natural character—to the special detriment of migratory fish like salmon. Utilities have agreed to begin trucking fish around the dams along the Lewis River, moving them from below these looming barriers to prime habitat upstream, above the dams.

Horseshoe Bend, Colorado River Photograph by Frans Lanting The Colorado River flows 1,470 miles (2.366 kilometers) from the Rocky Mountains to the Gulf of California's Sea of Cortez—or did when its waters were more plentiful. Reduced rainfall and the growing water demands of some 30 million thirsty Westerners have sucked some of the life from the Colorado, and these days its delta is often dry. Some scientists warn that changing climatic patterns and unchecked human use could dry up the river’s reservoirs within a couple decades. Santa Elena Canyon Photograph by Jack Dykinga The Rio Grande flows under the 1,500-foot-high (458-meter-high) cliffs of Santa Elena Canyon in the wild realms of Big Bend National Park. The west Texas waterway travels through some of the Southwest’s most remote wilderness areas. But the Rio Grande isn’t immune to the impacts of humans. In the past century, dams have stopped flooding that once created wooded banks for wildlife habitat. Reduced water levels have dried up some sections in recent summers and helped concentrate toxins, which enter the river upstream, into levels dangerous for wildlife.

New Orleans and the Mississippi River Photograph by Tyrone Turner The mighty Mississippi River cuts a graceful S curve through the city of New Orleans. The Mississippi rolls on for some 2,350 miles (3,782 kilometers) from Lake Itasca, Minnesota, to its Louisiana delta at the Gulf of Mexico. It is the second longest river in the United States behind only the Missouri River. Americans have built thousands of dams and levees along its length during the past century to aid navigation and help control deadly flooding. However, they also stop sediments from flowing downstream, which is causing the delta to erode so rapidly that some scientists fear an area nearly the size of Connecticut could disappear by 2100. Ganges River, India Photograph by Mark Downey/Getty Images Hindus visit the Ganges River to bathe in the "mother river." The faithful believe its waters are cleansing, but science tells a different story. Industrial pollution from cities like Kanpur, untreated waste from riverside communities, and even islands of floating trash soil the river's sacred waters. Efforts are under way to clean India’s iconic river, but the Ganges has a long way to go.

Icy Tree on Quebec’s Richelieu River Photograph by Claudine Besse, My Shot A lonely, icy tree stands sentinel in the mists of Quebec’s Richelieu River. The river, which flows north from Vermont’s Lake Champlain to the St. Lawrence, was an important transportation route for Native Americans and, later, French explorers. In places the Richelieu can seem unchanged by time, but America’s waters are far less rich than they were in times past. Forty percent of the continent’s fish species are at risk of extinction. Colorado River Photograph by Michael Nichols The Colorado River flows freely through this stretch of the American West, but elsewhere human hands have altered her path for their own ends—and the Colorado is not alone. Today large dams intercept some 35 percent of all the world’s river flows. Shifting river flows to serve human needs has played havoc with the inhabitants of many freshwater ecosystems. Fish and other aquatic species have lost critical habitat, as well as the seasonal cues, like floods, that help sustain their life cycles.

Glen Canyon and Lake Powell Photograph by Vincent Laforet The walls of Glen Canyon seem a bit taller when Lake Powell’s water levels are low, as evidenced by a telltale “bathtub ring” rising from the surface. The enormous lake’s levels fluctuate with rainfall and snowmelt. Droughts during much of the 21st century’s first decade reduced the lake to nearly half capacity. But even at low levels the nation’s second largest reservoir holds a tremendous amount of water—Lake Powell contains a staggering 1.2 trillion cubic feet (33 billion cubic meters). Rio Negro, Brazil Photograph by James P. Blair Indigenous peoples paddle the waters of the Rio Negro, in Brazil’s Amazon Basin. The rivers and streams of this enormous basin, larger than Texas, compose an aquatic ecosystem like no other—and hold an amazing 20 percent of the planet’s available freshwater.

Each year the rivers, home to more than 3,000 fish species, flood during the rainy season to create an amazing ecological mix of aquatic and terrestrial habitats known as “flooded forests.” Colorado River at Lake Powell, AZ Photograph by Vincent Laforet Since 1966 Glen Canyon Dam has dramatically altered the Colorado River ecosystem by trapping enormous quantities of silt. A 2008 experiment unleashed "high flow" waters from the dam to mimic natural flooding that once moved silt and built up sandbars and beaches downstream in the Grand Canyon. The natural floods once created crucial habitat for plants and animals, and the artificial version shows some promise at doing the same—but USGS scientists say the sandbars created in 2008 vanished in just six months A management regime of simulated floods might rebuild the Colorado's ecosystem, but must be balanced against lost power production from the dam. Morning River Sunshine St. Lawrence River | Travel to Quebec City, Canada ADVERTISING Cruises Québec is increasingly positioning itself on the international cruise scene as a destination and port of embarkation of choice. Over the years, it has welcomed over 500,000 passengers enjoying, among others, the Canada—New England itinerary.

From summer to mid-fall, impressive ships such as the Queen Mary II call into Québec’s port. Cruise from Québec and discover for yourself the magnificence of the St. Lawrence River and the Atlantic seaboard! Excursions on the River Many excursions on several types of vessels leave from the Old Port of Québec. Navigate the region and enjoy unbeatable views of the Château Frontenac, the Chute Montmorency , Île d’Orléans and the Côte-de-Beaupré . And why not enjoy brunch, dinner or a show while on board? Let the St. Lawrence River’s waters lead you to the Grosse Île historical site or to the whales in Tadoussac and in the Saguenay’s fjord — where salt water and fresh water meet. Credit: Croisières AML ADVERTISING Promenade Samuel-De Champlain A significant legacy of the capital city’s 400th anniversary, the Promenade Samuel-De Champlain literally gives the river back to Quebecers. This enchanting space is a model of restoration of the St.

Lawrence River’s shoreline and is dotted by a slew of attractions linked to the river, including a welcome centre, an interpretation path, an observation tower, pedestrian paths, themed stations, and parks. Families, walkers, runners, cyclists and in-line skaters gather here as soon as the weather warms up. Credit: Ville de Québec Ice Canoe In the winter, the St. Lawrence River’s waters are not exactly at rest! The ice canoe, which once upon a time was used by residents of Québec and Lévis as a means of communications, is now a competitive sport. During Québec’s Winter Carnival and the Grand défi Chez Victor , participants in this race give spectators an eyeful. But this unique activity is not only for athletes! Along with your guides with Ice Canoeing on the St. Lawrence River , you could also paddle on the frozen river and feel the ice crunch under your feet. Credit: Carnaval de Québec Quebec | Quebec, Canada | Britannica.com Quebec World Heritage site Quebec, French Québec , city, port, and capital of Quebec province, Canada .

One of the oldest cities in Canada—having celebrated its 400th anniversary in 2008—Quebec city has a distinct old-world character and charm. It is the only remaining walled city in North America north of Mexico and was recognized as a UNESCO World Heritage site in 1985. Among its other distinguishing characteristics are its narrow cobblestone streets, stone buildings, fortifications, and rich French Canadian culture grounded in the French language . The city’s splendid views of the surrounding landscape and unique character were noted as early as 1842 during a visit by Charles Dickens , who called Quebec the “Gibraltar of North Amerca.” In addition to being a major tourist destination, Quebec is an administrative centre and a port city for transatlantic trade. Its location at the confluence of the St. Lawrence and Saint-Charles rivers, about 150 miles (240 km) northeast of Montreal , provided a number of strategic military advantages: because of the narrowing of the St. Lawrence River, Quebec was the farthest upstream oceangoing vessels could navigate, and the city’s fortifications on a high ridge had a commanding view of the river.

Area 175 square miles (454 square km); metro. area, 1,293 square miles (3,349 square km). Pop. (2006) city, 491,142; metro. area, 719,153; (2011) 516,622; metro. area, 765,706. Quebec city at dusk, Quebec, Canada. © Creatas/JupiterImages Chateau Frontenac, Upper Town, towering over Lower Town, Quebec city, Quebec, Canada. © Creatas/JupiterImages History The first European to visit the area was French explorer Jacques Cartier , who was seeking a route to Asia as well as searching for valuable minerals such as gold and diamonds. On his second voyage to North America, he sailed up the St. Lawrence in 1535 and wintered in the Huron Indian village of Stadacona (the site of modern Quebec city).

Cartier made a third and final trip to the region in 1541, bringing settlers to establish a French colony at Stadacona, though they abandoned this effort after a couple of years. It was not until furs became an exceptionally valuable commodity by 1600 that the French renewed their interest in maintaining control of New France . In 1608 Samuel de Champlain installed the first permanent base in Canada at Quebec, which grew as a fortified fur-trading post. The St. Lawrence and its tributaries gave the French the best access to the interior of North America and control over the fur trade, an advantage that the British wanted to gain. Quebec, the guardian of New France, was under constant threat. In 1629 it was captured by the British, who held it until 1632, when the Treaty of Saint-Germain-en-Laye restored it to France . There were other attempts by the British to capture this stronghold, but all failed until the famous Battle of Quebec on the Plains of Abraham (adjacent to the city) in 1759, in which the French were defeated.

Shortly thereafter most of the French-held territory in North America was ceded to Great Britain by the Treaty of Paris in 1763. In 1759, during the French and Indian War, British troops landed upstream from Quebec and defeated … Library of Congress, Washington, D.C. Similar Topics Winnipeg Warfare in the region did not end with the capture of New France, however. Britain reinforced the military defenses of the city in time to repel an attack during the American Revolution in the second Battle of Quebec in 1775. The breakaway of the United States from British North America had important cultural, economic, and political implications for Quebec. Under the Quebec Act of 1774, French Canadians retained their language, religion, and other cultural institutions, which therefore allowed Quebec city to remain a centre of French culture. With the arrival of displaced Loyalists following American independence, settlement (mostly west of Quebec) increased, and so did trade with Britain, much of it through the port of Quebec, thus elevating the city’s economic status.

The increase in an English-speaking population contributed to the British Parliament’s passage of the Constitutional Act (1791), which split the large colony of Quebec into two provinces: Upper Canada (now the province of Ontario) and Lower Canada (now the province of Quebec). Quebec city, formerly the capital of the colony, remained the capital of Lower Canada. It was incorporated in 1832 and was given its actual charter in 1840, the year that Parliament voted to rejoin Upper and Lower Canada as the Province of Canada. In 1864 the city was the site of the conference of British North American colonies convened to plan the confederation of Canada, which was achieved in 1867, following passage of the British North America Act . Contemporary depiction of the unsuccessful British attack on Quebec city in 1690. Library of Congress, Washington, D.C. Map of Quebec (c. 1900), from the 10th edition of Encyclopædia Britannica. Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc. Ringling Bros. Folds Its Tent The economic base of Quebec city was subject to boom-and-bust conditions.

After the British takeover of New France, Montreal gained the dominant economic position in the province, whereas Quebec became a port city exposed to economic cycles of resource demand. Population growth in Quebec city also was relatively slow in comparison with that of Montreal. Still, from the late 1700s to the mid-1800s, the British demand for forest products fueled Quebec’s economy, and the city became the main site for British imports and exports as well as the port of entry for many immigrants. The lumbering activity also stimulated a significant local shipbuilding industry. This favourable economic position, however, was eroded by the development of steam- and steel-based technologies for ships and rail lines. Wooden vessels were no longer in demand, and the early rail lines connected Lévis (across the river) to Montreal rather than to Quebec. Moreover, the Erie Canal—which linked southern Ontario and rail lines from Montreal to Portland, Maine—diverted timber and other goods away from the St. Lawrence River and Quebec city. Improvements in navigation along the St. Lawrence between Quebec city and Montreal and the growing dependence on steam vessels further contributed to Quebec city’s being bypassed in favour of Montreal.

The withdrawal of the British military in 1871 was yet another economic blow to the capital city. Nevertheless, some labour-intensive manufacturing (notably tanneries, along with clothing and shoe manufacturers) remained active, and, with the development of inexpensive hydroelectric power, a pulp and paper mill located there in the 1920s; by the 1970s a refinery had been added. The contemporary city Facebook Twitter YouTube Instagram Pinterest Because Quebec is a capital city, civil servants and administrators make up a large portion of the service sector that dominates employment in the city. Quebec is also a major transatlantic port, handling products (mainly bulk goods) that are conveyed on the St. Lawrence Seaway, which serves the Great Lakes region of North America. The port, rail lines, and freeways also facilitate a manufacturing industry that includes newsprint, beverages and food processing, chemicals, printing, garments, and shipbuilding. The port also supports another major industry—tourism. In 2002 a cruise-ship terminal opened, and Quebec has become an important destination for this industry. Tourism has been a mainstay of the economy for well over 150 years.

Quebec city is serviced by the Jean Lesage International Airport, ferry service to Lévis, and a bus system that includes electric Écolobuses. Quebec city, Quebec, Canada, in winter. © Digital Vision/Getty Images Exploring Canada: Fact or Fiction? The city has three principal districts: Upper Town, Lower Town, and St. Roch. Upper Town, as the name suggests, is located high above the river on Cape Diamond (Cap Diamant); the militarily strategic high ground. Sandwiched between the banks of the St. Lawrence and Cape Diamond is the old commercial Lower Town. St. Roch occupies the lowlands east of the Lower Town to the St. Charles River. Surrounded by a stone wall some 2.9 miles (4.6 km) long that was constructed at the beginning of the 19th century to protect the city against feared invasion by the United States, Old Quebec is the heart of Upper Town. It is dominated by the picturesque Chateau Frontenac hotel. Construction on the copper-turreted castlelike hotel began in 1893, with its prominent central tower added in 1924.

Behind the hotel, a long boardwalk overlooks the Lower Town and the St. Lawrence River. Château Frontenac, Quebec. Editor Picks: Exploring 10 Types of Basketball Movies Church, government, and military institutions all were located within the city’s fortified walls and left a legacy of historic architecture. The star-shaped Citadelle (begun in 1820 and completed some 30 years later), Artillery Park, and adjacent National Battlefields Park (Plains of Abraham) are impressive features and a reminder of Quebec’s military past. Today, the Citadelle remains an active military base, where the Royal 22 Regiment stages an elaborate daily changing of the guard ceremony. Also located within the city’s walls is the Notre-Dame de Québec Basilica-Cathedral (where many of the bishops of Quebec are buried). This cathedral occupies the site of the original church, which was built in 1647 but was destroyed by fire. The Anglican cathedral of the Holy Trinity (the first Anglican cathedral in Canada) and the nearby Ursuline monastery are also located in Old Quebec.

Outside the walls, still in Upper Town, is the home of Quebec’s National Assembly, the imposing Parliament Building (the architecture of which was influenced by the Louvre Museum in Paris). Its facade is adorned with more than two dozen bronze statues of men and women who played pivotal roles in the province’s history. North and west of the Parliament Building, Upper Town blends into the St.-Jean-Baptiste neighbourhood. Though it was once primarily a working-class residential area, the neighbourhood has become increasingly gentrified and the locus of chic shops and restaurants. The Citadel on Cape Diamond, Quebec city. Stéphane Voyer The Parliament Building, home to Quebec’s National Assembly, in Quebec city. © Creatas/JupiterImages The Lower Town is connected to the Upper Town by steep roads and staircases, as well as by the funicular, a cable car that is more than 130 years old. In Place-Royale, Lower Town’s historic commercial centre, taverns, cafes, and shops line narrow irregular cobblestone streets that extend nearly to the riverbank.

Here too are the modest Church of Notre-Dame des Victoires (started in 1687; completed by 1723) and Jesuit Seminary (1663). Nearby at the old port market on summer evenings, Image Mill, a multimedia presentation on the history of Quebec city, is projected onto a grain elevator that becomes a gigantic screen. The Château Frontenac hotel (centre background), Upper Town, rising above buildings of Lower … © Creatas/JupiterImages Eyjafjallajökull volcano The city’s third district, St. Roch, was the industrial, manufacturing, transportation, and warehouse region of Quebec city and home to the working class. It remains the site of manufacturing, but revitalization projects that began in the 1990s transformed old warehouses and industrial sites into a pedestrian-oriented commercial district where artists, crafts, and small cafés abound. The majority of the residents of Quebec are Roman Catholic and French-speaking; however, English is common especially for tourist venues . With only a small percentage of the population being Anglophone, most schools are French-speaking, but instruction in English also occurs.

Quebec is home to Laval University (1852) and its affiliated teaching institutions as well as to the main campus of the University of Quebec (1968). Among the city’s other cultural institutions are the concert hall, the Grand Théâtre, and a number of notable museums. The Place-Royale Interpretation Centre (which focuses on the history of Quebec city), the Museum of French America, and Chevalier House are affiliated with the Museum of Civilization. Other museums include the Royal 22nd Regiment Museum (within the Citadelle), the National Fine Arts Museum of Quebec, and the Musée des Ursulines de Québec (the Ursulines Museum). Quebec city offers many opportunities to participate in sports and recreation. In winter skiing is especially popular on the slopes of the Laurentian Mountains only a few miles from the city. The Mont Sainte-Anne centre has been the scene of World Cup skiing tournaments as well as mountain bike world championships. Local hockey fans support the Remparts of the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League but famously continue to mourn the departure of the National Hockey League’s Nordiques, who departed Quebec city in 1995 to become the Colorado Avalanche .

Gridiron football fans celebrate Laval University’s Rouge et Or (“Red and Gold”), one of the premier Canadian college teams. After an absence of many decades, minor league baseball returned to Quebec in 2005 when the Capitales joined the independent Can-Am League. Among the principal local events are the summer festival of early to mid-July and the Québec Winter Carnival, which has been held from late January to mid-February annually since 1955. The Québec Winter Carnival is one of the largest events of its kind in the world and is represented by its well-known snowman mascot, Bonhomme. Quebec - Student Encyclopedia (Ages 11 and up) The capital of the province of Quebec, Canada, is one of the most beautiful and historic cities on the North American continent. Quebec lies on the north bank of the St. Lawrence River, at the northeastern extremity of a rocky tableland. Here the broad estuary of the St. Lawrence closes in around the Ile d’Orleans and abruptly narrows to less than a mile. The massive gray rock of Cape Diamond, the highest point of the tableland, rises 350 feet (100 meters) above the river.

On the landward side the tableland slopes gently to the valley of the St. Charles River. This stream empties into the St. Lawrence north of the cape, forming a fine harbor, Louise Basin. Article Contributors St. Lawrence River - The Canadian Encyclopedia Geography St. Lawrence River St. Lawrence River, grand river and estuary, which together with the Great Lakes forms a hydrographic system that penetrates 3,058 km into North America. St. Lawrence River, grand river and estuary, which together with the Great Lakes forms a hydrographic system that penetrates 3,058 km into North America. The river proper, about 1,197 km long, issues from Lake Ontario, flows NE past Montréal and Québec City to the Gulf of St Lawrence , from about 44° N lat near Kingston to about 50° N lat near Sept-Iles. The river's drainage basin covers some 1 million km2, of which 505,000 km2 is in the US, and its mean discharge of almost 10,100 m3/s is the largest in Canada.

Its greatest tributary, the Ottawa River , drains some 140,000 km2, the Saguenay River about 88,000 km2, the Manicouagan River about 45,000 km2, the St-Maurice River some 43,300 km2 and the Richelieu River about 22,000 km2. In geological terms, the St Lawrence is a young river, whose bed is a deep gash in the Earth's crust exposed some 10,000 years ago as the glaciers receded. The route of the explorers and main axis of New France , the river figured prominently in Canada's early history, and it remains the focus of settlement for much of the province of Québec. It is still the most important commercial waterway in Canada, as well as a source of electric power and natural beauty. The St Lawrence forms much of the southwestern outline of the Canadian Shield , which encroaches the river at Québec City .

At Cap-Tourmente, 40 km below Québec, the Laurentians rise 579 m above the river and follow its course past Les Eboulements (770 m), where they begin to retreat inland, to the Saguenay. The S bank is generally lower, although the Appalachians approach the river at Matane and, continuing eastward, form the tableland of Gaspé . Course The westerly limit of the river itself has been set at Everett Point, Lake Ontario. The section from Kingston to Montréal is called the International Rapids, as sudden drops in the riverbed create a series of rapids (this portion was flooded in the 1960s, forming Lake St Lawrence). The river begins as an extended arm of Lake Ontario, choked with numerous islands, beginning with Wolfe Island and including the Thousand Islands near Gananoque, Ont. It trends NE past Brockville, Prescott and Morrisburg to Cornwall, where it broadens to form Lake St Francis. The Beauharnois Canal now carries shipping safely past the former rapids of Lachine and Les Cèdres to another widening of the river, Lac St-Louis, SW of Montréal.

The Ottawa joins the mainstream through channels to Lac St-Louis and over a NE route via Lac des Deux Montagnes, Rivière des Mille-Iles and Rivière des Prairies. The land between the various channels at the confluence forms the archipelago on which the city of Montréal is built. The port of Montréal has been developed since the 19th century by dredging and canals. From Montréal to Trois-Rivières , the river is generally calm and unaffected by tides. A number of long, narrow islands continue to divide the mainstream and a large cluster, similar to the group at Lake Ontario, lies at the mouth of the Richelieu River at Sorel. The river broadens into Lac St-Pierre, some 15 km wide, and narrows again at Trois-Rivières, at the mouth of the St-Maurice River. From here to Québec, the freshwater flow becomes reversible with the tides. The river constricts at Québec where a promontory commands the entire upper course. The military value of the site was appreciated long before European settlement began.

Past Québec the river divides to encircle Ile d' Orléans and steadily widens to 15 km at Cap-Tourmente, almost 25 km at Île-aux-Coudres . The water becomes brackish and tides are high. Near the mouth of the Saguenay River, the riverbed drops dramatically from 25 m to 350 m, forming a drowned valley in the lower estuary. The freshwater flow mingles with cold arctic saltwater. The town of Tadoussac sits on a terrace of sand and clay at the confluence, but the rugged Precambrian N shore is sparsely settled. The S shore of the estuary, which forms a great curve towards Gaspé, is more open towards its hinterland, and major roads, including the Trans-Canada Highway , head inland from Rivière-du-Loup, Trois-Pistoles, Rimouski and Matane.

At Pointe-des-Monts, about 70 km E of Baie-Comeau and the mouth of the Manicouagan River, the N shore turns dramatically NNE for about 100 km to Sept-Îles , near the mouth of the Moisie River . The river doubles in width to over 100 km, forming a deep, broad submarine valley, in which strong currents pour in from the gulf along the N shore and sweep counterclockwise back to the E. The saline water of the estuary discourages ice, and the port of Sept-Iles is open year-round, despite its northerly location. According to the Royal Proclamation of 1763 , a line from the mouth of Rivière St-Jean on the north shore past the western tip of Île d'Anticosti to Cap des Rosiers on Gaspé marks the end of the river and the beginning of the gulf. River Life Over the course of the river, the vegetation varies from deciduous, mixed and coniferous forest to taiga. There are sandbank grasses in the freshwater course, and seaweed and other saltwater plants in the middle and maritime estuary.

Fish include smelt, sturgeon and herring. Beluga whales inhabit the lower course, on which walrus was once also abundant. Massive flocks of migratory birds use the sandbanks or river reefs as seasonal stops, including most of the world's greater snow geese, which nest on the tidal marshes at Cap-Tourmente. Sedentary Indian groups - likely Iroquoian - were settled at the present sites of Québec [ Stadacona ] and Montréal [ Hochelaga ] at the time of Jacques Cartier 's first explorations in the area in 1535. They had inexplicably disappeared by the time Champlain founded Québec in 1608, possibly dispersed by the nomadic Montagnais, Etchemin and Algonquin, with whom the French established a lucrative trading alliance. Jacques Cartier had discovered the river in 1535, with the help of Indian guides who took him past Anticosti, which he had believed was a peninsula. He built two transient camps near Stadacona in 1535 and 1541, but it was not until 1608 that the French foothold was secure.

The St Lawrence River provides almost the only riverine entrance to the heart of the continent, and French explorers and traders used it to establish a colonial empire that stretched beyond Lake Superior. By 1760 most of the riverbank from Québec to Montréal was patterned with the long, narrow strips of the Seigneurial System , with the seigneury of Beaupré marking the eastern limit of settlement. The river system was suited to the carriage of buoyant softwood logs, and in the 19th century the river became the main artery of the timber trade . Montréal and Québec City grew into major commercial centres, as wheat and flour from Upper Canada were carried down the river. Under the leadership of the North West Co , the fur traders pushed the "Empire of the St Lawrence" all the way to the basin of the Mackenzie River. Donald Creighton and others have argued that the E-W axis of the St Lawrence, which provided a counterpoise to the N-S affinity offered by much of the continent's geography, helped make possible the future nation of Canada. Today, with the development of the St Lawrence Seaway , the river links a vast area of Canada and the US with the rest of the world.

It is still, as Cartier called it, "the great river of Canada."

Question: On the banks of which river does the city of Quebec stand?
Answer: ST LAWRENCE